Posted on 09/18/2011 4:05:10 PM PDT by Petruchio
RENO, Nevada (AP) — A World War II-era plane had a video camera facing outward, and memory cards were found at the scene where it crashed near a grandstand in Reno. It raises the possibility of video of the crash that killed nine, including the pilot.
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Michael Wogan, 22, of Scottsdale, Arizona Greg Morcom of Washington state
Poor guys. What a way to go!
I don’t know . . . Events happened so fast I think they were gone before they knew what happened.
Nothing like a little carnage video for the MSM to use to help the victims of the Baraqqi Depression momentarily forget their plight.....
What shutter speed would stop that prop at that speed?
I feel for the dead, but even more for the living-some of the injuries must be horrific.
Ugh, I hope this isn’t released to become some morbid viral video thrill.
The two old people and the webcam is bad enough.
A friend of mine sent me some pictures of the plane showing what appears to be the pilot slumped over in the seat after the plane went through the high G maneuvers. So it is “possible” he did pass out and might have been unconscious when the plane hit the ground. We will have to wait for the final report.
As has been reported this plane has been highly modified with the wings being recently shortened 5 feet per side plus trimming of the tail section for additional air speed. Again we will have to wait on the final report.
Just a fraction of what they do to the Reno Racers to extract every ouce of speed out of them. The lame streams are so lame when it come to technical issues such as motorsports and aviation, IMHO they are clueless...
There are credible reports that he called ‘mayday’ prior to the crash.
It also appears the pilot is directing the plane away from the grandstand. Its highly doubtful he passed out.
The plane was modified, including shortening the wings.
Yes, true. May God be with them in their ordeal.
You’re correct that little bit normally should not cause a crash.
However this was no longer a standard P51. It had been modified for racing which made it more responsive to stick and rudder controls. Meaning it reacted quicker to changes in the wing and tail control surface positions.
The way I interpret this article is that the loss of the trim tab caused the plane to pitch nose up then either the pilot’s reaction to the plane’s unexpected maneuver caused the crash or that the pilot was unable to react in time and the plane then dove in to the ground.
The real difference between the WW II planes ability to survive the damage they received in combat and this racing plane to be honest is altitude. Had this plane been at 25,000 feet when it lost its trim tab the pilot would have had time to recover. Pilots say that altitude is insurance.
“There are credible reports that he called ‘mayday’ prior to the crash”
Yes, I have heard those reports myself. However at the NTSB news conference they could not confirm those reports. So far no real evidence has surfaced on the mayday broadcast by the pilot. We will have to wait and see.
The only video card of interest is probably the one that was in the camera. I can’t imagine being cool headed enough to swap out a video card when you’re ABOUT... TO... CRASH!!!
Yeah, I was wondering if a person had time to get out of the seat and move out of danger. I saw a close up of the crash.
No, they did not have time to move.
Are they monkeying around with the chemistry of Avgas?
I notice on the picture that the tailwheel seems to be down. Anyone care to speculate on why?
He didn’t direct the plane away. When his P-51 went vertical he rolled right 90 which took him toward the stands. It would have been better if he had rolled left.
People in the stands indicate it was originally headed directly toward the stands. The roll could have been due to the missing trim tab.
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